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Personal Identifiable Information Risk On The Rise 2018

GDPR compliance will bring a business mental shift in 2018 – specifically, the impact on the perception of data as a commodity

The GDPR deadline is now less than six months away, and businesses across the UK (as well as many more around the world) are currently working hard to prepare for it.

This, as many are discovering, is no easy feat. It requires a lot of time and resources. And, even for those companies who are compliant by May 25th, the effects of this legislation will live long into the future.

For all the logistical challenges GDPR presents, the legacy of GDPR will likely be far more profound in 2018. We will begin to see an evolution in the way that personal data is thought about and handled by businesses.

Whose data Is it?

GDPR itself has been built upon the notion that ‘everyone has the right to protection of personal data.’ While this principle has been around for decades, it has extra resonance in society today.

At present, scrutiny of business’ handling of personal data has gone mainstream, and discussions around what uses of this personal data may-or-may-not constitute a violation of customers’ privacy are no longer just the province of privacy lawyers and advocates.

This is because – now more than ever – people are waking up to how businesses are treating their personal data as an asset – an asset that people are increasingly viewing as belonging to them, the individual. And, so, they want the right to decide and dictate when and how this asset is used, and they want it protected.

In fact, SAP and Arlington Research’s 2017 report has revealed that over two-thirds of consumers do not trust brands to handle their personal data appropriately. Conversely, a similar percentage of individuals consider it their own responsibility to safeguard and manage their personal data.

This dynamic demonstrates just how true-to-life GDPR’s core sentiment is. The idea that people’s data should be safeguarded as a personal asset belonging to the individual is far more than an ideal, it is becoming the expectation for the average consumer.

Sourced from Sheila Jambekar, GDPR spokesperson and associate general counsel at Twilio